PHILADELPHIA — May 2-6, RISKWORLD took over the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia to offer more than 150 learning opportunities, special events and an expansive show floor for risk professionals.
This year’s event, hosted by the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS), saw 3% growth in total attendance, welcoming more than 10,800 professionals to the four-day show. The number of exhibitors also saw a 5% increase over 2025.
To find out more about this year’s event, Trade Show Executive (TSE) connected with Stuart Ruff-Lyon, CMP Fellow, AAiP, Chief Commercial Officer at RIMS.
New Elements Aimed at Making Impact
The RISKWORLD team introduced a number of new elements to the event’s programming in 2026 that enhanced the experience of attendees and exhibitors alike.
The all-new First Look Pavilion, which highlights first-time entrants into the show and was introduced to attract more first-time and smaller organizations, offered a turnkey option that presented kiosks rather than standard 10×10 booths.
To help facilitate more networking, the show also offered new conversation pods that offered attendees the ability to schedule meetings, or get work done, in a private and relatively soundproof booth.
“The number one reason people attend RISKWORLD is networking,” Ruff-Lyon said. “The conversation pods kept meetings going on the show floor instead of being offsite. … We also added a new networking reception in the hall and drove more traffic to booths as the exhibitors contributed to F&B experiences. The new reception was well received and well trafficked.”
In an effort to continue fostering programming that connects buyers with sellers, RISKWORLD debuted the Case Study Stage that gave exhibitors the opportunity to present real case studies to audiences.
These new elements didn’t just elevate the experiences at the show; they also served as revenue generators.
“Sponsorship targets greatly exceeded expectations as we offered the new Case Study Stage and Conversation Pods. Additionally, we were able to sell a sponsorship to our opening reception — the first time this has been done in at least 15 years,” Ruff-Lyon said. “We find that in the insurance community, a lot of companies really want brand exposure. Digital signage throughout the building was a hot ticket this year.”
Elevating Education
“We have a saying at RIMS — each year is the best RISKWORLD ever — why? Because it has to be,” Ruff-Lyon said. “I think attendees expect more interaction with education programming. They want to be a part of the conversation and not listen to panels as much. We are working to accommodate this shift. It can be difficult to create new, meaningful experiences and offer innovative programming when you are catering to at least four generations of attendees.”
A reflection of that shift impacting programming was the introduction of a new education track: Risk in Conversation. The track featured 60-minute sessions that were purposefully designed to prompt conversations and audience participation.
“The feedback on this has been phenomenal as attendees appreciate the interactive dialogue and welcomed the chance to learn from their peers,” Ruff-Lyon said.
Related. Freeman’s Learning Trends Report Reveals What Attendees Value at In-Person Educational Experiences
The show also featured four show floor theatres with timely, 30-minute education sessions covering a wide range of topics that are relevant to risk and insurance professionals.
A new special offer for full-conference attendees was centered around the educational experience. The event partnered with Snapsight to provide AI-powered, real-time audio and text translations into 70 different languages and session summaries. This enhancement facilitated greater inclusion and a way for attendees to access content they might have missed.
Fun Surprises and City-Wide Engagement
Philadelphia’s vibrant offerings and other satellite events taking place around RISKWORLD gave visitors the chance to truly experience the city.
“RISKWORLD has an incredibly large ICW program that involves restaurant and venue buyouts throughout the city,” Ruff-Lyon said. “Philly is a very walkable city, so more than half of the hotel block was within walking distance, offering attendees a greater opportunity to explore the city’s neighborhoods and shopping experiences.”
Something else designed to surprise and delight attendees was a custom song created by CNTV just for the show.
“We played the custom song with two different DJs in the center, and incorporated it into main stage events, our opening party and many videos,” Ruff-Lyon said. “It was fun, vibrant and unique.”
Want to jam out like a RISKWORLD attendee? Check out the custom song below.
